Activists still demand that the deaths of some 2,500 drug dealers during last year’s “War on Drugs” be investigated. Senator Kraisak Choonhavan, an outspoken independent legislator, was baffled by the hoopla. “Both sides are buffoons, the Liverpudlians and the Thai prime minister,” he said “He tends to do things on the spur of the moment Liverpool don’t know what they’re getting into. Football, which is the focus for illegal gambling, grabs global headlines.Many Thais deplore Thaksin’s decision to back the British and American governments by sending troops to Iraq while Muslim unrest in his own country festers. But political opponents charge that the thin-skinned prime minister feels under attack while his government faces scrutiny for corruption and human rights abuse He needs a popularity boost before next January’s elections. The rights to sell merchandise with the Liverpool logo throughout Asia has huge earning potential. And world-class Thai footballers could emerge if Liverpool coaches staff an academy for young players which will be founded in Chiang Mai, the prime minister’s hometown.

There was no comment from Liverpool but Thaksin said: “In principle, the deal is concluded.” His cabinet approved a new scheme to issue a special one-off sports lottery and sell shares in a new holding company for the bid, which will be 51 per cent-owned by the state-run Sports Authority of Thailand.So what is in it for the sports-obsessed Thailand? Pride of ownership, mostly. We are just talking out the fine print, such as the number of board members we can have.”Pongsak Raktapongpaisal, the Thai deputy commerce minister who helped work out the deal with Liverpool, and Santiparb Tejavanija, who heads the Sports Authority of Thailand, will arrive in England today for further talks. However, any deal could be jeopardised by G?rd Houllier’s position at the club which was thrown into doubt last night after a meeting between the manager, the chairman, David Moores, and Parry, broke up with Houllier’s future still unclear.Thaksin’s spokesman, Jakrapob Penkair, said three other English clubs, presumably unfazed by the prospect of so-called Thai “blood money” trickling into their coffers, have come knocking should the Anfield deal fail to go through at the 11th hour “They approached us,” Jakrapob said “Liverpool know that. Without even a whisper from the office of Liverpool’s chief executive, Rick Parry, yesterday, the Thai prime minster, Thaksin Shinawatra, trumpeted the news that the Premiership club had verbally accepted a £60m offer by the Thai government and a group of investors for a 30 per cent stake in one of Britain’s most venerable football teams.
“By the end of June, part of Liverpool will be owned by Thais,” said Thaksin, who expects to sign a non-binding agreement with the club this week. We invest a great deal of time and money in Liverpool FC and it is about time they remembered that.”The club declined to respond when asked about opposition among supporters’ groups to Thaksin, whose human rights record has been criticised by Amnesty International..

“We keep hearing from different people in Thailand, but we should not have to rely on them for information,” he said “The club has a duty to the fans to put us in the picture. Morgan appears to have the support of the majority of the fans, hundreds of whom continued to bombard the letters pages of the local press yesterday, calling for greater transparency from Liverpool.One typical contribution came from Kevin McDonnell, an Anfield season-ticket holder. Morgan already owns five per cent of the club and his proposal would have seen him take a controlling interest. I think that’s what ought to be considered when any takeover bids or indeed investment is being made.”Liverpool have already rebuffed an offer of £73m from the local businessman, Steve Morgan, saying it undervalued the club. “So I think it’s incumbent upon football clubs to make sure that they do have those very strong roots into their community That’s where the club comes from, that’s where the fans are. He stopped short of saying the government could or would intervene to stop someone with a dubious human rights record investing in an English club, but he made clear his preference for new investment from local sources.”Football clubs are a little bit special, they’re part of the community,” he said. Thaksin’s aides claim there are only minor details to settle.Caborn entered the debate by stating that clubs have a fundamental duty to try to retain links with their communities.

There is also a reported dispute over how many seats the Thai investors want on the Liverpool board Liverpool refused to discuss the matter. “Until the negotiations are finalised, the deal’s not finished,” said Paul Baines, the managing partner at Hawkpoint, the corporate advisory firm. “But our discussions regarding the Thai proposal are progressing.”According to the Liverpool Daily Post, Thaksin’s offer is not acceptable to the Liverpool board in its current form because the club does not want to relinquish all its commercial rights in Asia, as Thaksin wants. Thaksin Shinawatra’s claim that he is on the brink of completing a deal to give 30 per cent ownership of Liverpool was greeted with frustration and disbelief in the city yesterday. While fans called for greater transparency from their club and the Sports Minister, Richard Caborn, greeted the proposed deal less than warmly, the local media reported that Thaksin would need to revise his £63m offer to be sure of success.
Even Liverpool’s own financial advisors admitted that no binding agreement has yet been made with the controversial Thai prime minister. I am also looking forward to linking up with Mikael Forssell I think we can create an effective partnership.”. Hopefully, he will be the first of several high-profile signings that we will be making this summer.”Heskey, who flew out to New York yesterday for a short break before joining the England squad, said he was looking forward to getting back in the goals.”I think Birmingham is a progressive and ambitious club and very much going in the right direction,” he said.